1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a faucet, and more particularly to a faucet having a switching device connected to a shower head so that the faucet co-operates with the shower head.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional faucet in accordance with the prior art shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 comprises a faucet body 10 having a water outlet pipe 11, and a switching device 20 mounted on the water outlet pipe 11 of the faucet body 10. The water outlet pipe 11 of the faucet body 10 has an inside provided with a baffle 12 to divide the inside of the water outlet pipe 11 into a first water channel 110 and a second water channel 112. The second water channel 112 has a spout 114. The baffle 12 has a conduit 121 communicating with the first water channel 110 and the second water channel 112. The water outlet pipe 111 of the faucet body 10 has a top formed with an upper screw bore 13 aligned with the conduit 121 of the baffle 12 and connected to the ambient environment, and a bottom formed with a lower screw bore 14 aligned with the conduit 121 of the baffle 12 and connected to the ambient environment. The switching device 20 includes a threaded connector 24 screwed into the lower screw bore 14 of the faucet body 10 for mounting a hose (not shown) of a shower head (not shown) and having an inside formed with a water outlet hole 240, a support seat 21 having a lower end screwed into the upper screw bore 13 of the faucet body 10 and an inside formed with a shaft hole 211, a shaft 22 movably mounted in the shaft hole 211 of the support seat 21 and having an upper end protruded from the support seat 21 and a lower end extended through the conduit 121 of the baffle 12 and provided with a sealing gasket 221, and a control handle 23 movably mounted on the support seat 21 and screwed onto the upper end of the shaft 22 to move the shaft 22.
When the shaft 22 is moved upward by the control handle 23, the sealing gasket 221 is moved upward to seal the conduit 121 of the baffle 12, so that the water from the faucet body 10 flows through the water outlet hole 240 of the threaded connector 24 into the hose of the shower head. Alternatively, when the shaft 22 is moved downward by the control handle 23, the sealing gasket 221 is moved downward to open the conduit 121 of the baffle 12 and to seal the water outlet hole 240 of the threaded connector 24, so that the water from the faucet body 10 flows through the conduit 121 of the baffle 12 into the second water channel 112 and flows outward from the spout 114.
However, when the shaft 22 is lifted, the shaft 22 is easily lowered down by the total weight of the shaft 22 and the control handle 23, thereby causing inconvenience to the user. In addition, the faucet body 10 has to provide an upper screw bore 13 and a lower screw bore 14 aligned with each other, thereby increasing the costs of fabrication. Further, the user has to drive the control handle 23 to overcome the friction between the shaft 22 and the support seat 21, thereby wasting the manual work.